Method and system for identifying a time specific event

ABSTRACT

Method and system for providing a compact, portable electronic devices capable of storing data related to time specific events such as music broadcasts, television broadcasts and advertisements, and which are capable of recalling the stored time specific events to provide users with information corresponding to the stored time specific events such as the name of the music broadcast, artist and album information for the broadcast music, name of the television program broadcast, or the product or service information corresponding to the advertisements is provided.

RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 topending provisional application no. 60/218,416 entitled “Method forIdentifying a Time Specific Event” filed on Jul. 14, 2000 which isherein incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to portable electronic devicesincluding electronic data marker devices. More particularly, the presentinvention relates to method and system for identifying a time specificevent using portable electronic devices to record and later recallinformation corresponding to the identified time specific events.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] With increase in portable electronic devices such as personaldigital assistants (PDAs) and WAP (Wireless Application Protocol)enabled mobile telephones, there has been a steady increase in thesedevices capable of performing more operations. Indeed, each generationof portable electronic devices generally follows a more physicallycompact design with increased functionality.

[0004] As more devices become available to the consumers, functionalityas well as the size of the devices play a significant role in capturingthe market share for a particular device. For example, without anydoubt, the space around one's key chain is considered valuable, withmany retailers and vendors of goods and services vying for consumer'skey chain space. For instance, movie video rental retailers recentlybegan issuing a miniaturized credit card like plastic which typicallyincludes a bar code with the user's account information. Given the size,consumers readily find a place for such items in the consumer's keychain.

[0005] In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to have aportable electronic device which is capable of storing data related totime specific events, and which is capable of recalling the stored timespecific events for the user of the device and further, where the deviceis compact and easily accessible to the user, for example, which caneasily fit around the user's key chain.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] In one embodiment, a system for identifying a time specific eventincludes a data marker device configure to store one or more time stampsand a device identification code, a server terminal configured togenerate a reference time information, and a user terminal configured toreceive the one or more time stamps and the device identification codefrom the data marker device, and to receive the reference timeinformation from the server terminal, the user terminal furtherconfigured to determine a time information corresponding to the each oneor more time stamps.

[0007] A system for identifying a time specific event in accordance withanother embodiment includes a data marker device configure to store oneor more time stamps, each of the one or more time stamps generatedresponsive to a user input operation, and a device identification code,a data network, a server terminal coupled to the data network configuredto generate a reference time information, a user terminal coupled to thedata network configured to receive the one or more time stamps and thedevice identification code from the data marker device, and further, toreceive the reference time information from the server terminal, wherethe reference time information substantially corresponds to a time pointwhen the data marker device establishes connection with the userterminal.

[0008] A method in accordance with yet another embodiment includesreceiving one or more time stamps, receiving a data marker deviceidentification code, transmitting a request for a reference timeinformation, receiving the reference time information based on thetransmitting step, determining a time information corresponding to eachof the one or more time stamps, and transmitting data including the oneor more time stamps, the data marker device identification code, thereference time information, and the time information corresponding toeach of the one or more time stamps.

[0009] A system for identifying a time specific event in accordance withstill another embodiment includes means for storing one or more timestamps and a device identification code, means for generating areference time information, means for receiving the one or more timestamps and the device identification code, and the reference timeinformation, and means for determining a time information correspondingto the each one or more time stamps.

[0010] These and other features and advantages of the present inventionwill be understood upon consideration of the following detaileddescription of the invention and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011]FIG. 1 illustrates an overall system for identifying a timespecific event in one embodiment;

[0012]FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the electronic data markerdevice shown in FIG. 1;

[0013]FIG. 3 illustrates an electronic data marker device andcradle-type docking connection of one embodiment;

[0014]FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of user terminal 103 shown inFIG. 1;

[0015]FIG. 5 is a flowchart for illustrating one embodiment of theelectronic data marker device operation;

[0016]FIG. 6 is a flowchart for illustrating one embodiment ofdownloading data from the user's electronic music marker device accountto the data marker device;

[0017]FIG. 7 is a flowchart for illustrating the data marker devicedriver processing of the user terminal in one embodiment; and

[0018]FIG. 8 is a flowchart for illustrating the data marker devicedriver processing of the user terminal in another embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019]FIG. 1 illustrates an overall system for identifying a timespecific event in one embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, overall system100 includes user terminal 103 connected to data network 104 such as theinternet via connection protocols such as TCP/IP, Appletalk, usingconnection interface unit (not shown) such as a dial-up modem through aninternet service provider (ISP), a broadband network such as a DSL orcable modem, a T1 or LAN connection, or any other means for connectingto the internet. User terminal 103 is configured to connect toelectronic data marker device 101 via cradle type connection unit 102,and configured to receive, upon synchronization operation with datamarker device 101, bookmark information stored in data marker device101. In one embodiment, the bookmark information transmitted from datamarker device 101 to user terminal 103 may include data marker device101 unique device identification code, the number of stored bookmarks,and corresponding date and time stamp for each stored bookmarks.

[0020] Also shown in FIG. 1 is server terminal 105 connected to datanetwork 104 for communicating with user terminals 103 for data transfer.Moreover, as further shown in FIG. 1, in one aspect, for bookmarkingbroadcast music clips using data marker 101, playlist provider 106 isprovided to communicate with server terminal 105. Playlist provider 106may be configured to transmit playlist information corresponding toregistered radio station broadcasts such as the title, artist and albuminformation for the music broadcast from the registered radio station.

[0021] Indeed, in one aspect, playlist provider 106 may be configured toperiodically transmit information related to the music broadcast fromthe registered radio stations over a predetermined period of time. Forexample, depending upon factors such as the target market for theregistered radio station or the geographic location of the registeredradio station, playlist provider 106 may be configured to transmitbroadcast music clip information to server terminal 105 within tenminutes from the termination of the respective music broadcast, oralternatively, within 12 or 24 hours from a predetermined broadcastcutoff time such as 10 PM or midnight. Moreover, while playlist provider106 is shown as communicating with server terminal 105 via a dedicatedconnection, within the scope of the present invention, server terminal105 and playlist provider 106 may communicate via a connection throughdata network 104 for data transfer.

[0022]FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the electronic data markerdevice shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 2, data marker device 101includes memory 201 such as a Random Access Memory (RAM) and a Read-OnlyMemory (ROM), and stored thereon is a unique bookmarking deviceidentification code 202 which can include a predetermined combination ofletters or numbers, or a combination of both. In one embodiment,identification code 202 can include a thirteen-digit number which isunique to each bookmarking device and is pre-stored in the ROM portionof memory 201.

[0023] Further shown in FIG. 2 is controller (CPU) 204 which isconfigured to control the various components of bookmarking device 101as shown such as display unit 207, input units 203A, 203B such asbookmarking buttons for bookmarking broadcast music clips over aregistered radio or television station, or for bookmarking locations,input/output (I/O) interface 205, clock/timer 206, and memory 201. Ascan be seen from FIG. 2, upon receiving an input signal from a user ofdata marker device 101 via input units 203A, 203B, controller 204 may beconfigured to access the various components of device 101 depending uponthe input command received from the user, to perform one or a pluralityof processings, executing the input command of the user.

[0024] Moreover, I/O interface 205 of data marker device 101 shown inFIG. 2 may be configured to, under the control of controller 204,interface with server terminal 105. Display unit 207 in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention may include a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a plasma-type display, and the like, configured todisplay text or image data, or a combined text and image data.Furthermore, as discussed above, the input unit 203A, 203B may includespring-loaded type input buttons for operation by the user's finger.Alternatively, input unit 203A, 203B may include a touchpad-type screenintegrated with display unit 207 for simultaneously inputting anddisplaying information, where the user can tap the pressure-sensitivescreen using a stylus or the like to enter input commands. Timer/clock206 of data marker device 101 in accordance with one aspect of thepresent invention may be configured to provide actual time informationor alternatively, provide an elapsed time information from an arbitraryframe of reference depending upon the input command from the user underthe control of controller 204.

[0025]FIG. 3 illustrates an electronic data marker device andcradle-type docking connection of one embodiment. Referring to FIG. 3,data marker device 101 includes a housing comprising body 301 and cap302. Body 301 is provided with e-mark button 303 which is configured foruser input commands. Also provided on body 301 are display panels 304 aand 304 b which are configured to display the number of user inputtede-marks and the type of registered broadcast station for thecorresponding e-marks, respectively. Finally, body 301 includescommunication port 305 such as a USB port which is integrated onto body301 such that, as will be discussed in further detail below, body 301may be placed on top of cradle type connection 102 with communicationport 305 capable of being plugged into the corresponding port on cradle02.

[0026] Cap 302 can be attached to body 301 when access to communicationport 305 is unnecessary. As shown, cap 302 is provided with a pair ofrelease/lock buttons 306 on either side of cap 302 such that bydepressing release/lock buttons 306 when cap 302 is locked with body301, cap 302 can be released from a locked position and communicationport 305 may be accessed. Furthermore, cap 302 is provided with hole 307substantially at its edge position such that link chain 308 can belooped through hole 307 to allow the user to attach the data markerdevice 101 to a key chain or the like.

[0027] Referring back to FIG. 3, cradle-type connection 102 is providedwith cradle base 310 substantially flat on its bottom surface (notshown) to rest cradle 102 on a flat surface such as a desktop and a bookshelf. On the other side of the bottom surface of cradle 102 isreceiving section 311 substantially positioned on the middle of cradle102, where communication port 312 such as a USB port is provided forconnection to communication port 305 of the data marker device 101. Alsoshown in FIG. 3 is cable 313 attached to cradle connection 102 with acommunication port 314 at its other end. In this manner, cradle 102 maybe connected to user terminal 103 accessing the user's electronic musicmarker device account over an internet connection.

[0028] In one aspect, data marker device 101 may include an electronicmusic marker device which is configured to bookmark music clips whilebeing broadcast over a registered radio or a television station, and tolater recall the information related to the bookmarked music clip suchas the name of the song, the artist, the album containing the song andso on. Using the electronic music marker device, a user may convenientlyaccess the music clip information that the user listened to on the radioat a later time without the need to memorize or write down theinformation or wait hopefully for the disc jockey on the radio toprovide that information. In this manner, if the user wants to, forexample, purchase the music album which the user has marked usingelectronic music marker device, the user can easily identify thenecessary information related to the marked music clip from the e-marksprovided by the electronic music marker device.

[0029] Additional information relating to the operation of theelectronic music marker device 101 may be found in pending applicationSer. No. 09/126,007 filed on Jul. 29, 1998 and application Ser. No.09/401,105 filed on Sept. 22, 1999, both assigned to Sony Corporation,joint-assignee of the present application with Sony Electronics, Inc., asubsidiary of Sony Corporation, the disclosures of each of which areherein incorporated in their entirely by reference for all purposes.

[0030]FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of user terminal 103 shown inFIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 4, user terminal 103 (FIG. 1) in oneembodiment may include controller 410, storage unit 420, I/O interfaceunit 430, input unit 440, output unit 450 and clock 460. Storage unit420 of user terminal 103 may include one or more of an internal or anexternal storage device such as a hard disc drive (HDD), a CD-RW drive,or a zip drive. Input unit 440 of user terminal 103 may include one ofor a combination of a keyboard, a mouse, a touchpad input device and avoice-recognition type input terminal including a microphone withcorresponding software installed in user terminal 103 for performinginput operations by voice commands.

[0031] Referring to FIG. 4, controller 410 is coupled to input unit 440and accordingly, may be configured to process the input data receivedfrom input unit 440. Storage unit 420 is similarly coupled to controller410, and may be configured to store inputted data received from inputunit 440 or other data received by user terminal 103. Clock 460 alsocoupled to controller 410 may be configured to provide time informationto controller 410 which, in turn, may be stored in storage unit 420 asdiscussed in further detail below.

[0032] Referring back to FIG. 4, I/O interface unit 430 in oneembodiment may be coupled to controller 410, and may be configured tointerface with other user terminals 103 in the network or to communicatewith server terminal 105. In one embodiment, I/O interface circuit 430of user terminal 103 may include a communication port configured toconnect to the date network 104 such as the internet via connectionssuch as, but not limited to, a modem dial-up through an internet serviceprovider (ISP), a DSL or cable modem-type connection, and a T1, IDSN orLAN type connection. Communication port integrated in I/O interfacecircuit 230 may include, among others, one of a USB port, a serial port,a parallel port, an IEEE 1394 communication port, a IrDA communicationport, and a Bluetooth enabled communication port.

[0033] Referring again to FIG. 4, output unit 450 of user terminal 103may include display unit 451 and speakers 452. Display unit 451 may beconfigured to output text, image (for example, in .jpg or .gif formats)or video data (for example, in .avi or .mpeg formats) while speakers maybe configured to output sound data in the form of, for example, .wavfile format. In this manner, user terminal 103 in one embodiment may beconfigured to communicate with server terminal 105 over data network104.

[0034]FIG. 5 is a flowchart for illustrating one embodiment of theelectronic data marker device operation. Referring to FIG. 5, at step510, electronic data marker device 101 detects user's input operation ofe-mark buttons 203A, 203B. Then, at step 520, data marker device 101illuminates or flashes a corresponding e-mark display panel 304 a, 304b. As discussed above, in one embodiment, the corresponding e-markdisplay panel 304 a, 304 b may be configured to display time and/or dateinformation of the user's input operation of e-mark buttons 203A, 203B.

[0035] At step 530, data marker 101 determines whether all availablee-mark display panels 304 a, 304 b are being used (for example,illuminated or flashing in response to user's input operation of e-markbutton 203A, 203B). If it is determined that there are e-mark displaypanels 304 a, 304 b available, data marker device 101 waits for furtherinput operation by the user at step 510. On the other hand, if it isdetermined at step 530 that all available e-mark display panels 304 a,304 b are in use, then at step 540, electronic data marker device 101generates an output signal to inform the user that data marker device101 has reached its maximum number of e-marks that it can handle, andthe procedure ends. In one embodiment, the output signal from datamarker device 101 to inform the user that it has reached its maximumnumber of e-marks it can handle may be an audible output signal such asan audible tone via an audio output terminal (not shown). Alternatively,data marker device 101 may be configured to flash all e-mark displaypanels 203A. 203B simultaneously for a predetermined period of time tovisually indicate to the user that it has reached its maximum number ofe-marks that it can handle.

[0036]FIG. 6 is a flowchart for illustrating one embodiment ofdownloading data from the user's electronic music marker device accountto the data marker device. Referring to FIG. 6, at step 610, data markerdevice 101 detects a connection to user terminal 103 connected to theinternet. After the user enters the user's account information andperforming necessary electronic music marker device account access stepsat user terminal 103, at step 620, data corresponding to the e-marks(bookmarks) stored in data marker device 101 is transmitted to theuser's electronic music marker device account via gateway (user)terminal 103, and in response, the corresponding text and/or image(including video) data are retrieved from server terminal 105 of, forexample, emarker.com web site and transmitted to the user's electronicmusic marker device account. Then, at step 630, the text and/or imagedata corresponding to each e-marks are downloaded onto data markerdevice 101. At step 640, the downloaded text and/or image data aredisplayed on each corresponding e-mark display panel 304 a, 304 b ondata marker device 101.

[0037] When the user disconnects data marker device 101 from userterminal 103, the termination of the is detected at step 650, and atstep 660, data marker device 101 is reset such that previously storede-marks inputted by the user may be erased from the storage unit of datamarker device 101, and correspondingly, the illuminated e-mark displaypanels 304 a, 304 b are turned off. The user may then operate e-markbutton 203A, 203B again to input additional bookmarks of events such asmusic clip broadcasts from registered radio and television broadcaststations.

[0038]FIG. 7 is a flowchart for illustrating the data marker devicedriver processing of the user terminal in one embodiment. Referring toFIG. 7, at step 710, a connection between data marker device 101 anduser terminal 103 is established using, for example, a USB cableconnection and the like as discussed above. Thereafter, at step 720,data marker device 101 is configured to transmit the stored time stampsthat the user of the device has bookmarked as well as the unique deviceidentification code from its memory (e.g., EEPROM) to user terminal 103.In one aspect, each marked time stamp includes timing information basedon device clock 460 internal to data marker device 101, and may be inthe format of, for example, an arbitrary running clock measured inseconds such as 411,124 seconds representing an elapsed time of 114.2hours.

[0039] Referring back to FIG. 7, at step 730, device stop time isreceived from data marker device 101 which represents the referencepoint for device clock 460 used to determine the actual timecorresponding to each marked time stamp received from device 101 asdiscussed in further detail below. For instance, the device stop timemay be in the format of the arbitrary running clock measures in secondssimilar to the marked time stamps, and may be represented as, forexample, 412,579 seconds. Thereafter at step 740, user terminal 103polls server terminal 105 via a connection through data network 104 torequest and receive real time information (based on, for example, GMT),from server terminal 105, corresponding to the device stop time receivedat step 730.

[0040] Referring again to FIG. 7, at step 750, user terminal 103determines the actual real time information for each marked time stampbased on the real time information received from server terminal 105,time stamp information corresponding to each marked time stamp receivedfrom data marker device 101, and the stop time information received fromdevice 101. For example, to determine the actual time for each markedtime stamp, in one aspect, the time elapsed from the marked time stampto the device stop time may be subtracted from the real time informationreceived from server terminal 105 which represents the real timecorresponding to the device stop time. Thus, for example, by subtractingthe marked time stamp of 411,124 seconds (for the example above) fromthe device stop time of 412,579 seconds (resulting in 1,455 seconds),and subtracting this amount from the real time corresponding to thedevice stop time, the actual time information for each marked time stampmarked be data marker device 101 may be determined.

[0041] Referring again to FIG. 7, at step 760, the actual timeinformation corresponding to each marked time stamp, as well as deviceID information and the number of marked time stamps are transmitted toserver terminal 105. Upon receipt, server terminal 105 may be configuredto transmit a receipt acknowledgement signal to user terminal 103 atstep 770 confirming the receipt of the data transmitted from userterminal 103. Thereafter at step 780, user terminal 103 may beconfigured to delete the marked time stamps stored in data marker device101 and to disconnect or power off the device. Data marker device 101may then be disconnected from user terminal 103 and the user may inputadditional time stamp marks in the manner described above.

[0042]FIG. 8 is a flowchart for illustrating the data marker devicedriver processing of the user terminal in another embodiment. Referringto FIG. 8, at step 810 a connection is established between data markerdevice 101 and user terminal 103 in a similar manner as described aboveat step 710 of FIG. 7. At step 820, user terminal 103 transmits arequest to server terminal 105 for server clock time information (e.g.,based on GMT) which corresponds to the time at which data marker device101's connection to user terminal 103 is established. In this manner,the time at which data marker device 101 is connected to user terminal103 may be determined based on server terminal 105 clock andaccordingly, synchronized therewith.

[0043] Referring back to FIG. 8, at step 830, marked time stamps and thedata marker device unique identification code is received by userterminal 103. Thereafter at step 840, user terminal 103 is configured totransmit the received marked time stamps, device identification code,and server clock time information reflecting the real time at whichconnection between device 101 and user terminal 103 is established, toserver terminal 105 via data network 104 under a connection protocolsuch as TCP/IP or wireless application protocol in the case of wirelessconnection between user terminal 103 and server terminal 105. Serverterminal 105 is then configured to determine the real time for eachmarked time stamp received from user terminal 103 in the manner similarto step 750 of FIG. 7 above (where the determination of real timecorresponding to each marked time stamp was determined by userterminal).

[0044] Upon receiving the marked time stamps, device identificationcode, and server clock time information from user terminal 103, serverterminal 105 is configured to transmit a receipt acknowledgement signalat step 850 back to user terminal 103 confirming receipt of thetransmission. After receiving the receipt acknowledgement signal fromserver terminal 105, user terminal 103 may be configured to delete thestored marked time stamps in data marking device 101 and thereafter topower off device 101 to preserve its battery life. Referring again toFIG. 8, at step 870, user terminal 103 is configured to launch defaultinternet browser on display unit 451 of user terminal 103 such that theuser may view information corresponding to the marked time stampsreceived from server terminal 105.

[0045] In one aspect, clock 206 of data marker device 101 may beconfigured to begin its clock function upon being powered up initiallyby a battery and the like. Thereafter, clock 206 may be configured tocontinuously run in one second increments until a predetermined maximumtime has reached. In one embodiment, the predetermined maximum time forclock 206 may be 10,000 hours. Alternatively, clock 206 may beconfigured to initialize its one-second increment counter uponcompletion of each connection process with user terminal 103 such thatclock 206 is configured to run from zero each time data marker device101 is disconnected from user terminal 103.

[0046] As discussed above, in accordance with various embodiments, aplurality of time specific events may be recorded or “stamped” usingdata marker device 101 such that the user may conveniently recallinformation corresponding to the stamped time specific events at a laterpoint in time without the need to recall the information from memory orto write it down each time a desired time specific event occurs.

[0047] For example, in the case of music broadcasts from radio andtelevision stations, often the name of the music clip being broadcast orthe name of the artist of the music clip, for example, is of interest tothe listeners. However, at the time of the music clip broadcast, it isnot always the case that the broadcasting station informs the listenerof the information such as the name of the music clip or the artistduring the music clip broadcast. Moreover, even when the broadcastingstation provides the name of the music clip being broadcast or the nameof the album or artist for the music clip, listeners may not necessarilyremember that information at a later point in time, for example, whenthe listener wishes to purchase the music clip which was heard over thebroadcasting station.

[0048] Accordingly, data marker device 101 provides a simple andeffective approach to store data such as time stamps which may becorrelated with broadcast music clip that the user is interested in, andthe information corresponding to the stamped music clip may beconveniently retrieved from server terminal maintained by the datamarker device provider such as emarker.com. Indeed, by maintainingplaylist information for broadcasts from registered radio and televisionstations, server terminal may be configured to determine the broadcastmusic clips corresponding to the user's time stamps and transmitinformation related to the marked (or stamped) music clips to the userterminal. Furthermore, given the compact size of the data marker device,it can be conveniently attached to the user's keychain or the like foreasy and ready access thereto. Additionally, with the internal clock ofthe data marker device capable of running up to 10,000 hours (over 410days), device users may retrieve the information corresponding to markedtime stamps long after the time stamps are marked in the device withoutbeing concerned about losing the stored information (i.e., the markedtime stamps).

[0049] While one example related to marking or stamping broadcast musicclips is discussed above, in accordance with the various embodiments,other time specific events may be marked for later retrieval using thedata marker device. For example, television program broadcasts,advertisements for products and/or services broadcast over radio ortelevision stations, or even those advertisements that are placed alongside highways on billboards. Indeed, using the geographic informationcorresponding to the data marker device for a particular user and thecorresponding device identification code, and provided that the serverterminal maintains a database or has access to information related tothe placement of the advertisements, using the data marker device, theuser may conveniently retrieve information corresponding to the markedtime stamps whether it is related to a broadcast music clip or atelevision program, or the underlying product or service for a broadcastadvertisement.

[0050] Various other modifications and alterations in the structure andmethod of operation of this invention will be apparent to those skilledin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.Although the invention has been described in connection with specificpreferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention asclaimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. It isintended that the following claims define the scope of the presentinvention and that structures and methods within the scope of theseclaims and their equivalents be covered thereby.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for identifying a time specific event,comprising: a data marker device configured to store one or more timestamps and a device identification code; a server terminal configured togenerate a reference time information; and a user terminal configured toreceive the one or more time stamps and the device identification codefrom the data marker device, and to receive the reference timeinformation from the server terminal, the user terminal furtherconfigured to determine a time information corresponding to the each oneor more time stamps.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein each of the one ormore time stamps stored in the data marker device is generatedresponsive to a user input operation of the data marker device.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein the data marker device includes a clock, eachof the one or more time stamps corresponds to a respective signal fromthe clock.
 4. The system of claim 3 wherein the clock is configured toincrement in a one-second interval.
 5. The system of claim 1 wherein thedevice identification code includes one of a predetermined lengthnumeric sequence, a predetermined length letter sequence, and apredetermined length combination of numeric and letter sequence.
 6. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein the data marker device includes an electronicmusic marker.
 7. The system of claim 1 wherein the reference timeinformation includes a GMT time information corresponding substantiallyto the initial connection between the data marker device and the userterminal.
 8. The system of claim 1 wherein the user terminal isconfigured to transmit a request signal to the server terminal when thedata marker device establishes connection to the user terminal.
 9. Thesystem of claim 8 wherein the server terminal is configured to generateand transmit the reference time information to the user terminal inresponse to the request signal received from the user terminal.
 10. Thesystem of claim 8 wherein the connection between the data marker deviceand the user terminal includes one of a USB connection, a parallelconnection, a serial connection, an IrDA connection and a Bluetoothconnection.
 11. The system of claim 1 wherein the time informationdetermined by the user terminal corresponding to the each one or moretime stamps is based on the reference time information.
 12. The systemof claim 1 wherein the user terminal is further configured to transmitthe one or more time stamps, the device identification code thereference time information and the time information corresponding to theeach one or more time stamps to the server terminal.
 13. The system ofclaim 12 wherein the user terminal is further configured to receive areceipt acknowledgement signal from the server terminal upon terminationof transmission of the one or more time stamps, the deviceidentification code, the reference time information and the timeinformation corresponding to the each one or more time stamps to theserver terminal.
 14. The system of claim 13 wherein the user terminal isfurther configured to erase the time stamps stored in the data markerdevice after receiving the receipt acknowledgement signal.
 15. Thesystem of claim 14 wherein the user terminal is further configured topower off the data marker device.
 16. The system of claim 1 wherein theuser terminal includes one of a personal computer, an internet accessenabled personal digital assistant, a Wireless Application Protocolenabled mobile telephone, and an i-mode enabled mobile telephone. 17.The system of claim 1 further including a data network, the serverterminal and the user terminal coupled to the data network.
 18. Thesystem of claim 17 wherein the data network includes one of a Local AreaNetwork (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), and an internet connection.19. The system of claim 17 wherein the server terminal and the userterminal are coupled to the data network using one of a TCP/IP protocoland a wireless application protocol.
 20. The system of claim 1 whereinthe user terminal includes an output unit, the user terminal furtherconfigured to launch an internet browser for display in the output unit.21. A system for identifying a time specific event, comprising: a datamarker device configured to store one or more time stamps, each of theone or more time stamps generated responsive to a user input operation,and a device identification code; a data network; a server terminalcoupled to the data network configured to generate a reference timeinformation; and a user terminal coupled to the data network configuredto receive the one or more time stamps and the device identificationcode from the data marker device, and further, to receive the referencetime information from the server terminal; wherein the reference timeinformation substantially corresponds to a time point when the datamarker device establishes connection with the user terminal.
 22. Thesystem of claim 21 wherein the data marker device includes a clock, eachof the one or more time stamps corresponds to a respective signal fromthe clock.
 23. The system of claim 22 wherein the clock is configured toincrement in a one-second interval.
 24. The system of claim 21 whereinthe device identification code includes one of a predetermined lengthnumeric sequence, a predetermined length letter sequence, and apredetermined length combination of numeric and letter sequence.
 25. Thesystem of claim 21 wherein the data marker device includes an electronicmusic marker.
 26. The system of claim 21 wherein the reference timeinformation includes a GMT time information.
 27. The system of claim 21wherein the connection between the data marker device and the userterminal includes one of a USB connection, a parallel connection, aserial connection, an IrDA connection and a Bluetooth connection. 28.The system of claim 21 wherein the user terminal is further configuredto transmit a request signal to the server terminal when the data markerdevice establishes the connection with the user terminal.
 29. The systemof claim 28 wherein the server terminal is configured to transmit thereference time information to the user terminal in response to therequest signal received from the user terminal.
 30. The system of claim21 wherein the user terminal is further configured to generate a timeinformation corresponding to the each one or more time stamps is basedon the reference time information.
 31. The system of claim 21 whereinthe user terminal is further configured to transmit the one or more timestamps, the device identification code, the reference time informationand the time information corresponding to the each one or more timestamps to the server terminal.
 32. The system of claim 31 wherein theuser terminal is further configured to receive a receipt acknowledgementsignal from the server terminal upon termination of transmission of theone or more time stamps, the device identification code the referencetime information and the time information corresponding to the each oneor more time stamps to the server terminal.
 33. The system of claim 33wherein the user terminal is further configured to erase the time stampsstored in the data marker device after receiving the receiptacknowledgement signal.
 34. The system of claim 33 wherein the userterminal is further configured to power off the data marker device. 35.The system of claim 21 wherein the server terminal is configured totransmit the reference time information in response to a request signalreceived from the user terminal, the request signal transmitted from theuser terminal when the data marker device establishes the connectionwith the user terminal.
 36. The system of claim 35 wherein the userterminal is further configured to transmit the one or more time stamps,the device identification code, and the reference time information tothe server terminal.
 37. The system of claim 36 wherein the userterminal is further configured to receive a receipt acknowledgementsignal from the server terminal upon completing the transmission of theone or more time stamps, the device identification code, and thereference time information.
 38. The system of claim 37 wherein the userterminal is further configured to erase the time stamps stored in thedata marker device after receiving the receipt acknowledgement signal.39. The system of claim 38 wherein the user terminal is furtherconfigured to power off the data marker device.
 40. The system of claim21 wherein the user terminal includes one of a personal computer, aninternet access enabled personal digital assistant, a WirelessApplication Protocol enabled mobile telephone, and an i-mode enabledmobile telephone.
 41. The system of claim 21 wherein the data networkincludes one of a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN),and an internet connection.
 42. The system of claim 21 wherein theserver terminal and the user terminal are coupled to the data networkusing one of a TCP/IP protocol and a wireless application protocol. 43.The system of claim 21 wherein the user terminal includes an outputunit, the user terminal further configured to launch an internet browserfor display in the output unit.
 44. A method, comprising: receiving oneor more time stamps; receiving a data marker device identification code;transmitting a request for a reference time information; receiving thereference time information based on the transmitting step; determining atime information corresponding to each of the one or more time stamps;and transmitting data including the one or more time stamps, the datamarker device identification code, the reference time information, andthe time information corresponding to each of the one or more timestamps.
 45. The method of claim 44 further including establishing a datatransfer protocol.
 46. The method of claim 44 wherein the determiningstep includes comparing reference time information to each of the one ormore time stamps, and generating the time information based on thecomparing step.
 47. The method of claim 44 further including receiving areceipt acknowledgement signal after the data transmitting step.
 48. Themethod of claim 47 further including erasing the time stamps from thedata marker device.
 49. The method of claim 48 further includingpowering off the data marker device.
 50. The method of claim 44 furtherincluding displaying an internet browser.
 51. A system for identifying atime specific event, comprising: means for storing one or more timestamps and a device identification code; means for generating areference time information; means for receiving the one or more timestamps and the device identification code, and the reference timeinformation; and means for determining a time information correspondingto the each one or more time stamps.